It's been a while...

Yeah, it's been a while since I blogged.  I think I blog in my head sometimes, does that count?

Anyway, it's been an amazing summer so far.  Full of high points and of course a few of those moments that slap you back to reality.  Reality checks are good, not enjoyable, but purposeful.

Highlights for the summer.  A getaway to Bimini.

My son asked if I was trapped in a Cornona commercial...well, duh!

And yes, it did wash it all away....

Of course, I returned as most of us do, and hit the ground running.

Lots of AMAZING stuff going on  right now!  The business is growing and growing and ugh, the business side of business is not nearly as much fun as attending a birth.  I know, I know.   I am grateful. I am blessed. I am tired.

Speaking of AMAZING....we co-sponsored the "Big Latch On" event for breastfeeding awareness yesterday.  Wow. Just wow, the number of families that came out and participated.  It was like an Amazing Births & Beyond reunion.  My heart was full.

Stacy & I at the ABB table!

BIG crowd for the latching. So awesome!

It has recently come to my attention that the Bali trip begins in 9 weeks! Holy smoke, when the trip was planned back in January, it felt like a lifetime away.  Not anymore.  Excitement for the workshop is building and final plans are being made. Whoo hoo, this is really happening! Total immersion birthing workshop in what I'm envisioning as one of the most beautiful places on earth...yeah, maybe a tad bit giddy ;)

Miriam and I have decided to do a little fundraiser for Bumi Sehat, Robin Lim's birth center in Bali.  Of course it will be ridiculously silly and hopefully do the trick and raise some funds.  Thank you to Tricia at Click.Capture.Create. Photography for capturing the images and to writer David Stebbins for lending his creative genius to the campaign.  ALL will be revealed this week.  Silly, yes. Ridiculous, but of course. Effective, please help us make it so for SUCH a worthwhile cause.

Here's your clue....curious now?  I REALLY HOPE SO ;)

Well, I'm off to go pull myself together to teach a HypnoBirthing Class this morning.  Stacy, the usual instructor is at a birth.  This has been the flavor of the last couple of months, so many births and lots of impromptu filling in.  It's honestly a wonderful feeling to sense so much energy coursing through the little birth house.

Life is good.  It really is.

Peace.
Lorie

It happened...

The morning  of Friday, June 22, 2012 started out with a flurry of activity!  Two first-time mamas were in labor, one was a homebirth in Jupiter and the other, our potential FIRST birth center birth.  The birth teams assembled, plans were made and we were all off to our respective positions.

Midwife Miriam, Allie and I headed to Jupiter to assess that mama with the hopes that we would be back before the birth center client gave birth.  It appeared to be neck and neck all day as we were updated of the happenings at the birth house.

SO...

at 5:05pm, the first baby was born at the Palms Birth House.  Please welcome baby Laine Jean!  It was a sweet, sweet birth and I would love to say that I was present, but alas, I cannot tell a lie ;)

The faces of joy!

Exactly two hours and 5 minutes later, beautiful Ruby Christina was sweetly born in her parents bed.

The birth team, including Lucy the pup!

After settling in this sweet family, we headed back to the birth house to meet our "first family" and tie up the loose ends of the day.  It was quite a day!  Two sweet births = One terrific day!

**Giggle of the day was provided by our office girl, Angie.  She went to Midwife Miriam's car to retrieve a stamp pad for the babies foot prints and returned with a placenta.  I think her expression pretty much sums up how she felt about the discovery!

 I think she likes it??

**Lesson of the day was provided by the universe.  You are EXACTLY where you are supposed to be. Period :)


Anyway....so, it's official!  We are open for business at the birth house.  Thank you to Laine's parents who trusted us with their special delivery.  May there be MANY more babies to be born in our little house. 

Peace.

Monday

It's a beautiful morning.

Finally, blue skies again!

Incredible birth yesterday. (oh, and I learned an awesome new dance from big brother Paxton called the jelly fish jam!)

World meet Deklan...born on 4/22 @4:22pm! Happy Earth Day!

Finishing up a placenta encapsulation for a mama this morning.

TCM prepared and ground.  Ready for encapsulation.

Seeing what the rest of the day brings...

Peace.

Outside my bubble

I know preaching to the choir doesn't create change.  But after spending the day at the Baby Expo with masses of pregnant women and experiencing what it appears that the majority of women think, I had only one desire....to climb back into my familiar bubble.  I believe that there were 4 woman all day that stopped at our table to express their desire for a natural birth.  The rest were interested in services and classes but quickly made a point of being "epidural girls."  That is familiar to me but what came next, was not.

The image above elicited not one, but two incidents at my booth, where women proclaimed this image "Gross," "Yuk," "Disgusting."  I had no words. Really. I was speechless.  This is a very modest image, depicting a pure and in my obviously twisted eyes, sacred moment.  How in the hell can this be GROSS?

I quickly scanned my brain again....gross? I recognize that waterbirth and natural birth are not for everyone...but that wasn't what was expressed.  She didn't say, "Oh, that's not for me.  I'm getting an epidural." That, I would be okay with.  Each woman has a right to birth the way she chooses. But no, it was absolute disgust. Horror.

Sad. Really, so sad.  I look now at this image again and see nothing other than raw beauty, power, amazing tenderness in the fathers hand as he touches his daughter, the sacredness of how I imagine every baby would wish to enter the world.

Perhaps I do need to get outside my bubble more and in touch with the masses.  I'm just not sure I'm up for the task.

Peace.